Comments

Episode-281- An Interview With Listener Barb Harrington — 18 Comments

  1. Folks, just so it’s clear – this is EXACTLY what it’s like to sit and talk to Jack. I’m about halfway through the podcast this morning, and I’m thinking, “This is the Jack I hung out with in Seal Beach.” He’s the real deal, and a great guy.

    What Barb is saying about bread is SO RIGHT ON. You need to learn to make bread NOW. I make bread constantly (focaccia, white bread, ciabatta, sweet potato, sourdough, pepper bread, beer bread, etc), and you wouldn’t believe just how much better it is than ANYTHING you can buy at the store. And it’s empowering too. You make bread, and people start talking about how delicious it is, how they want to make their own, etc. You spread the word when you do things on your own.

    (about 37 minutes into it now):
    Barb – thank you for what you’re saying about carrying your weapon. I’m very concerned about carrying, and I love hearing that someone who “looks innocent, and like a mom” is confident enough to carry. Thank you. Makes me feel better about carrying.

    (at the end of the podcast):
    Barb! COME TO DT10!!!!!! We’d LOVE to see you there! (and thank you for your kind words)

    What a GREAT show today. Freaking stellar. Thank you so much for sharing with us.

  2. Barb,
    I wish I had the time and energy that you have. However, the 5k sq foot garden did great this year, and we canned about 200 jars of food, dried a ton of stuff and we’ll be eating great this winter. You are a wise woman and I hope to attend a gathering in your area some day.

  3. Jack brought up an glaring hole in my preps – I have at least a year’s worth of coffee but not a comparable amount of creamer. I don’t want to use the typical powdered creamer. Does anybody out there make a powdered “half and half” product that is any good?

  4. I loved this podcast. Barb and Jack you made us feel normal. Thanks. I carry and my story is
    I had to start because I worked for the government as a contractor hauling explosives.
    After being armed I misssed it when I didn’t carry. So I got my CCW and picked out a gun that I could use either hand, and I practice. I do it so much that when I go into some place that doesn’t allow guns I have to check myself to stop and secure the weapon before entering. My DH says
    did you leave your baby to home or do we have to turn around, this is when we go to the VA hospital. He laughs that I say I feel anked without my baby. Just in case something happens when I am gone and can’t have Baby, I have learned
    how to use my cane and a knife, both I can carry.
    Now I am trying to get my garden to be rabbit proof. They enjoyed it to the ground. The tomatoes grew, and so did herbs. You rock Barb.
    Thanks for sharing.

  5. timfromohio – Most powered products are mostly chemicals – so bad for you. Try canned milk. You can either buy it in cans at the grocery store or can it yourself. It’s very easy to can and the milk becomes thicker after canned. If you can whole milk it will taste much like half and half. You can’t can cream or half and half – it curdles. Let me know if you come up with anything as I too like half and half in my coffee and this is the closest substitute I’ve found. Blessings Barb

  6. Dear TSP Friends – I should have written these comments all at one time but I was running in and out of the kitchen. Got home from the BOL yesterday afternoon where we got 4-5 inches of snow in just a couple of hours. Freezing temps were heading to Denver and our garden so we unloaded our gear and went to picking. Sooooo – I have a 5 gal bucket of tomatoes; a 5 gal. bucket of green beans; bunches of zuchini\’s; corn and lots and lots of peppers: japalenos,anaheims, and poblanos. We left everything else and it all should be okay. Part of my solution was to make a huge batch of green chili to chase away the cold (it may snow here tomorrow) and thereby use a bunch of my goodies. Probably will can some of the chili so we will have some later too. Thank you all for your very kind comments. I feel if I encouraged one person by doing this interview my day (week? month?) was well spent. You all are a great bunch of folk and am looking forward to meeting as many as I can in person someday (DT10 perhaps?) If I can help anyone in anyway – recipes; canning; raising chickens;concealed carry for ladies and guns; or just a good laugh please ask. Blessings – Barb (TwoBluesMama).

  7. I love bread as life itself. I go to my local baker every other day. Thanks for the idea of making my own. A while ago I made some chocolate bread and it came out great. I had forgotten all about this. Thanks for the encouragement and inspiration.

  8. Thanks for the suggestion. An All-American brand canner is on our list of purchases this fall so we can get into canning. Thus far we have blanched/frozen extra produce from our garden.

    I had to laugh at your comment regarding your family – my family also thought it strange and somewhat creep to eat directly from the garden. \"Is it safe?\" I\’m not sure what part of organically grown with zero chemicals vs. GMO food laiden with all manner of pesticides they are confused about …

  9. Just finished listening to the show – great show. One more comment regarding homestead size. It’s easy to think/dream “we need 20 acres” or whatever number, with the general idea being more than you have or more than you can get your hands on. Here’s reality – more land = way more work. If you work full time, you can easily spend all of your freetime during the week and all weekend time on 1/2 an acre. We have 1.78 acres and there is NO WAY I have come close to utilizing the full potential of the property. I fantasize all the time about more land, but in reality, would not be able to do more than I’m doing now.

  10. Great podcast! Barb thanks for doing this interview. Have you considered offering some classes on canning, making bread, and how to setup a homestead, and other survival things you have learned? I know I wouldn’t mind learning from someone who has this figured out. This is all pretty overwhelming to the person just learning and making life changes to sustainable living. It is good to hear from other people who are thinking and doing the same things. This is a lot of work, and hearing others like Barb are inspirational. Thanks.

  11. Thanks Wade for the kind words. I’m hoping through the forum to be able to pass on things I’ve learned. I don’t know if my health would allow me to actually teach classes on a regular basis but I am willing to help anyone who asks. I don’t know what exactly happens at Dirt Time10 – I realize there are some survival classes so I don’t know if I could do anything there that would be of value. Just keep striving toward your goal and you will get there. Dream big. Blessings Barb

  12. I really enjoyed the segment where you and Barb were talking about carrying in the home and the “horizontal club.”

    Add my house to that list…

    We keep a shotgun (Rem 870) for home defense. Part of the reason is for the general defense qualities, but another part is that psychological effect. I know my wife would drop the hammer on anyone trying to harm her or her cub, but the extra added noise of the bolt racking into place and a female voice of anger and a healthy amount of “you’re gonna die if you take another step closer” would be a bigger factor… That voice would probably scare me more than the noise of the bolt sliding home.

    A guy with a gun would scare me, if I was a burglar…but a woman defending her children with a gun–that would be terrifying.